Chapter 22 Ciara's POV After the issue with Mama Grace, Orion and I got into it or should I say I got into it with Orion. He had been trying to be nice to me but I didn't want it. It was suspicious and obviously, anyone in my position would have done the same thing I did. Because how could he just try to be nice to me now? Why now? He never really liked me before so what had changed? Or had Grandfather's condition triggered something in him towards me? If Bryan had been the one to offer his support then I would have received it with open arms because he had been so supportive even when I didn't need or deserve it from him. Oh, how I missed him! I fought the urge to reach out to him and ask him for his support every day and even now Mama Grace and I didn't seem to agree on this issue. We both wanted Grandfather to feel better but we just couldn't agree on a particular point of view. Her calling me a little girl hurt me deeply but I brushed it off as her pain overwhelming her
Chapter 23 Orion's POV What was I doing here? I had never felt unsure of any of my life choices or decisions before until I walked into that hospital room, I didn’t know what it was perhaps something in the air or the deadly tense silence that was present in the room but something just felt off and I felt out of place. Ciara turned to see me and was shocked, I could tell from her face because she didn’t try to hide it, not that she could have even if she wanted to. I didn’t even know what had pushed me to come in the first place. Mama Grace was a bit too polite and only made me feel welcomed out of respect for my Alpha position and the fact that she had known me since I was in my teens when Sophie and I were closer. Perhaps that was what had driven me to come; my love for her had prompted me to look out for her own. She loved her Grandfather dearly and would be disheartened to find that he wasn’t in perfect health. She would be more disappointed to find that I didn’t do something t
Bryan's POVAs I made my way back to my car, I fought the urge to turn on my heels and run back to Ciara. She hadn't been happy to see me leave but she didn't say anything but I saw it in her eyes. Seeing her like that tore at my heart but I needed to leave. Some things were going down at the pack that I had to take care of. If only I could reveal my identity as her mate and take her with me then all this won't be happening but I just couldn't. Now that her wedding to Orion had been announced publicly, announcing that she was my mate would only make people believe that I was against Orion and his happiness. But why did the moon goddess think it was a good idea to pair me and Orion like this? What happened to give me my mate? Why out of all the werewolves did she pick Orion to share a mate with me? It just didn't make sense.I sighed as I climbed into the back of the car and leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes. Thinking about the situation was frustrating as well as draining and I
Ciara's POVIt's been two days, 2,880 minutes, and 172,800 seconds since Grandpa was admitted to the hospital, and nothing has changed. He is still unmoving, and the machines are the only things making noises. Grandma has been awfully quiet these last two days, and I almost feel sorry for her, almost.The doctor isn't saying anythig and no one is telling us anything. All that happens each day is that a nurse comes in to check his vitals every morning and then sends us pitful glances as she's walking out. This repeats itself at night and honestly I am this close to snapping her neck.Also we haven't had any more surprise visitors. ORion and his brother, Bryan ahve been no shows in two days and while I don't care much about Orion showing up, I have longed for Bryan to show up. He had a way of relaxing me with his words and just his mere presence. I found myself wanting to reach out to him but then that would be strange since we had no actual realtionship. And the last thing we needed wa
Ciara's POVI let Lucas walk me back to the ward and then we stood outside while we talked some more. In that moment, he was the best friend I had made when I arrived in the pack and I badly needed to hang onto him because with so many changes in my life, I needed something to remain as it was. After a while, he patted my shoulder and sent me a sad smile. "Old Man Heartfield is a strong man, you should know he'd never let this thing keep him down for long. Before you know it, he will recover."I nodded, clinging unto his every word wanting it to be true because I wanted Gramps to be okay. We stood like that and then his hands went around me and I hugged him, grateful for his presence. I didn't realize how much I wanted someone to reassure me that everything would be okay until he showed up today. Even though ideally, I didn't want to talk to him, I was happy he had come to show his support. It showed that despite everything he cared about me and I couldn't count on him.He pulled bac
Orion's POV"Son, how is Old Man Heartfield doing?" My father asked as he walked into my office. I sighed and sat up, looking away from the documents on my table. Since the last time I had been at the hospital, I hadn't gone there again and my father's question suddenly made me feel guilty but I shrugged it off. He sighed as he took a seat and eyed me thoughtfully. "Are you really going to throw away your future over a woman. Why don't you accept this woman you have here and who knows?" he asked and I looked at him like he had lost his mind.Was he really asking me to forget Sophie? To ignore the memories nad future I had imagined with her?"I'm not asking you to forget her," He continued as if hearing my thoughts. "I'm only asking you to start living your life after all she did run off with another man.""I'm sure there's a perfect explanation for that Father," I told him coming to Sophie's defense and he shook his head. "Look father, i am neck deep in paper work."He eyed me for a
Ciara’s POVI turned on my side and yawned, feeling comfortable for the first time in two days. The chair had never been comfortable and I had never woken up feeling so relaxed and soft all over.Just as my eyes cleared, I frowned as I took in my surroundings. This wasn’t the ward and I wasn’t in a room in the hospital either. Fear immediately gripped me as I looked around frantically. The last time something like this had happened, I had been, I had woken up in bed with Orion and then my life had taken a whole 360-degree turn. I went from being just a stranger to being an almost Luna.“Calm down,” I forced myself to relax as I scanned my memory for what happened last night. The last thing I remembered was sobbing on Lucas’ body and him comforting me. I was so sure we had been together yesterday so how did I end up here?Just as I tried to make sense of my situation, the door burst open and Orion walked in. Frowning, my eyes widened in shock as I misinterpreted the entire thing. I pee
Ciara’s POV Shock reverberated through my body as I felt his warm lips on mine. I had never thought this day would come because Orion had always acted so disgusted of me. Now with his tongue trying to force its way down my throat, I couldn’t take it anymore so I fought against him. His hold on my waist didn’t let up so struggled against him for a while longer before he finally let me go. Frowning, he looked at me but I didn’t meet his eyes. I took a step back, my mind fuzzy and clouded. “What is going on?” His frown deepened but I was done with his games. Just a week ago, he was irritated with my presence, he never gave a shit about how I was feeling or what I was doing and now suddenly he found me irresistible? “What do you mean?” “Don’t play dumb Orion, please answer my question. Are you drunk?” I asked, my eyebrow raised. An unknown look entered his eyes and before I could ask him about it, it was gone. His face became expressionless and I shivered. Were we suddenly back to t
Chapter 145Ciara's POV I finally got a hold on my wavering emotions and pushed James away. He never expected the strength or force of my push and it sent him staggering a few feets backwards. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” I asked, anger bubbling inside of me. “Have you lost your mind?!” I raised my hand and slapped him, the anger I was feeling radiating off me in waves.He blinked, clearly in shock and then rubbed his lips with his fingers as if trying to wipe off any traces of the kiss. “You're testing me, woman, and I hate being dared."The eye roll that followed his words was an unconscious response to his silly statement. “Stay away from me and keep your filthy hands to yourself, you disgusting pig!” James sneered. "You don't give the orders. I'm the one in charge here."I spat on the ground close to his feet and leaned up with a raised eyebrow. "You're nothing but a spineless coward who accepted Sophia's orders simply because you're too whipped to see that sh
Chapter 144 Ciara's POV “Where is she?” The commotion from outside my room woke me up. With a frown, I sat up in bed wondering what could have happened. I slid off the bed and made my way towards the door with sleepy eyes. The door swung open violently, hitting my chin. I screamed and stepped back, holding it as pain throbbed from my chin to other parts of my face. “Have you lost your mind?” I shrieked, massaging my sore chin. “What is the meaning of this?!” “Come now cousin, that's no way to talk to me. Remember I control your life now.” A scoff left my mouth before I could stop it at her words. Why was she saying all of this now? My head snapped up and I stared at Sophia in shock. What was she even doing here all of a sudden? “You're shocked, aren't you?” she smirked and walked further into he room, running her fingertips over the bed, the wall, everything. “Why are you here, Sophia?” I asked before I could help myself. She shrugged. “What can I say cousin? I mi
Chapter 143 Bryan's POV “Alpha,” Ryan greeted me as he walked into my room with a tray of food. I sat up and balled my hands into fists when I saw the tray. “I already told you I'm not hungry. You shouldn't have bothered,” He ignored me and placed the tray on the nightstand. He stopped back and stared at me. “Your brother called to see you again,” I clenched my jaw and grunted. “I don't want to see him, I already told you this,” “Well he is very persistent. I am afraid I have run out of lies to explain why you're not here.” My eyes rolled to the back of my head on its own at his words. I knew how persistent Orion could be and it was really annoying that he couldn't just give me some space. “Alpha please speak to him. He's sorry about everything he did. He didn't mean to lie to you and when you look at it, he had been trying to protect you,” A scoff flew out of my mouth and I glared at Ryan. If looks could kill….. He didn't seem concerned by my behaviour and continu
Chapter 142 Orion's POV “He's still not picking up?” I asked and James shook his head. “No Alpha. It keeps going to voicemail,” I sighed and banged my fists on the table repeatedly. What was going on with my brother? Surely he wasn't still mad at me because I called Sophia's bluff? We were both mature adults and we could harsh it out like men. James had informed me that he had been here to see me a couple of days ago but I never received him in office. I had been confused when James told me about it. Why had my brother come to see me but then changed his mind last minute? My heartbeat picked up as I remembered that the same day, Lucas and I had been discussing something sensitive in my office. A gasp left my mouth before I could stop it and I nearly tumbled out of my chair. Could he have heard our conversation? “Alpha?” If he had, surely he'd have barged in and challenged me for lying right? He wouldn't just storm off like that. At least that's what I wanted to
Chapter 140 Ciara's POV It's been two weeks since I found out I was pregnant and so far I have been doing a horrible job at hiding it from James and Brianna. The maids have stopped serving me since Brianna took over making it easier to hide since Brianna is as oblivious as they come. In a couple of months from now it would be rather difficult to hide it because then I'd have a noticeable bump. If I was home and had access to my wardrobe then I'd have selected a couple of maternity gowns. Here I'm stuck with shirts and my single pair of jeans that I had on when they kidnapped me. Now there's a slight bump that isn't noticeable except I take my shirt off which I would never do in the presence of these people anyway. I had to think of a way to ask for more clothes or find a way to get myself out of here before my child would be at risk of being used for Sophia's dirty games. It was getting close to noon and since Brianna had already fed me once for breakfast, my next mea
Chapter 141 Ciara's POV “Hey,” I raised my head and rubbed my sleepy eyes to see James standing at the door, one foot in and the other outside. With a frown I sat up as my mind began to race. “Did something happen? What's going on?” What time was it? He shook his head and walked in fully, closing the door behind him. “Good morning to you too,” he teased with a smirk and I raised a brow. “Okay okay, I know this might be weird for you,” “Weird? Try strange, uncomfortable amongst other things,” I sighed and slipped on a smile. “What can I do for you?” His smile grew bigger. “Oh it's nothing I just came to keep you company that's all. If you don't mind of course. I could leave if you don't want me…” He turned his back to me and started to move towards the door. I flew off the bed and grabbed his arm. “No, sorry,” I let my hands fall to my side again and took a step back, my cheeks flushed pink. “What I mean is I'd love to have another human being besides myself in this room
Chapter 139 Bryan's POV “How could you do something like that?” “You weren't thinking clearly,” The heavy words I had spoken to my brother yesterday without thinking came back to haunt me as soon as I laid down to rest for the day. Guilt and a sense of loss filled me. When he had walked out after bowing and calling me ‘Aloha’ I should have realized how much I had screwed except I chose to turn a blind eye and kept fumming. But as I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, images from that moment started to replay like a film in my mind ripping my peace away. In truth I had been the one who told him to stand up to that dreadful woman and when he took my advice, I had turned my back on him. How could I have been so stupid and judgy why all he had done all these while is trying to protect our mate? He had been forced to sleep with the enemy literally and wine and dine with her while I got to live my life free just without Ciara in it. If I was being completely honest, h
Chapter 138 Orion's POV “Alpha,” James greeted me as I walked past him but I didn't respond. My head was clouded with different thoughts all centered around Bryan and his reaction when I told him how I stood up to Sophia. For someone who didn't want to entertain Sophia from the beginning, his reaction had been less than satisfactory. I had gone there with my head held high feeling extremely proud of myself for sticking it to Sophia and I had expected he'd be proud and pat me on the back. Instead he lashed out at me as if I were a little kid. I hadn't been expecting the completely different 360 reaction he dealt me today and it was still a bitter pill to swallow. My office door slammed behind me but I didn't flinch as I made my way to the chair. Setting down on it, I shook my head as if to expel every negative and hurtful thing he had said to me. Even if he was angry, he shouldn't have spoken to me in that manner and tone. Not even my mother would speak to me the way
Chapter 137 Bryan's POV “Since the killings have stopped, our people have grown more secure and more confident in your leadership Alpha Bryan,” one of the elders said and I almost scoffed at his attempt to flatter me. We were having a council meeting that had started since 7am but my mind was divided. After Old Man Heartfield's visit yesterday, I found myself thinking a lot about Ciara and her wellbeing. I wondered how she was doing and if Sophia was treating her right just like she promised Orion she would when they made their deal. I was going to keep being strong and not give Ciara any reason to worry about me. The less she worried about us, the better for her. All she had to do at this point was focus solely on staying alive and eventually getting out of there in one piece. Once she was safe in my arms again, she could go back to being the worrywart she always was. “Have we found the cause of the killings?” Another elder asked and I looked at Ryan. He flushed an